Ascaria
Ascaria Ascaria is the capital city of both Nesaria and the Nesarian Empire, and it was the birthplace of the modern Nesarian civilisation. Ascaria is the most urbanised and densely populated region of Nesaria, having approx. 7,000,000 inhabitants, which is 28% of Nesaria's population. Dungoria is part of the Duchy of Ascaria, however it is not part of the city of Ascaria, so it is not included in the population count. The population of Dungoria varies greatly between generations but generally stays between 700,000 and 900,000 and has never exceeded 1,000,000. The Kingdom of Ascaria was founded in 600BC, when King Mathados the Founder united the local tribes into one, although the region has been populated for much longer; the general area was inhabited during the Age of Titans and later abandoned during the Annihilation, but Humans returned some time around 1000 BC. Ascaria was razed in 98AD, during the War Against the Xaenis. Practically everything wooden was burned, and many stone structures were also destroyed, however the city was quickly rebuilt after the Allied victory in the war, and many destroyed or partially destroyed structures were rebuilt. The widespread destruction also allowed Athdus III, who was Emperor at the time, to re-plan the jumbled mess that was the city into something more ordered to reduce congestion of roads and make more efficient use of space. In modern times, Ascaria has an almost entirely service-based economy, with a diverse range of services in retail, administration, banking and so on - although the legacy of Nesarian Fascism, which strongly opposes international finance, has led to a small financial sector compared to similar cities. The northern section of the city has historically been the poorer and "rougher" region, and the west is also slightly poorer than the east. As a general rule, those areas that are closer to Capera and the Imperial Palace are wealthier and better-kept, with the notable exception of Tivensa in the far west. Geography Ascaria is a large flat plain surrounded by the Great Cliffs to the north and west, the Ascarian Mountains to the east, and the Great Wall to the south. There are no natural bodies of water in Ascaria, although there are a few tiny streams coming from the mountains. There used to be a forest on the north-west, but the last trees there fell in approximately 300 AD. Capera is situated on a raised plateau in the south-eastern corner of Ascaria. If Ascaria is the capital of Nesaria, then Capera is the capital of Ascaria, holding the Imperial Palace, Imperial Offices and the most important High Temple in all of Nesaria, which is the oldest building in Capera that still stands. Capera is full of many very old monumental buildings, many of which are the property of the Imperial house, which serves to make the area a huge tourist magnet - although there are no hotels here. Capera is walled off from the rest of Ascaria, but this small wall (which many call a "glorified fence") is mainly symbolic and aeshetic, and is not expected to actually withstand a siege. Although the poorer areas of the city are very generic in style and could be easily mistaken for any other city on the planet, the middle-class and wealthy areas (i.e. the southern half) follow a particular architectural style which is closely regulated by the local governing body, with the south-east (the wealthiest area of the city barring Capera) having the strictest regulations. Although Tivensa, an area in the far west, does not have such regulations, only the Elvetan Priestly Order is permitted to build here, and they rigorously stick by their own architectural aesthetic. This aesthetic has evolved over time, and it has incorporated a few modern elements in recent times, but buildings are exepected to at least loosely fit into the Nesarian Gothic style. Tivensa (meaning "temple district") is an area in the west of Ascaria populated solely by temples, and it is the property of the Elvetan Priestly Order. The jurisdiction of what was considered the district of Tivensa has declined over time, and since the 20th century it has been restricted to just where the temples actually are rather than the surrounding land, but even this area is by no means small. Tivensa is considered the peak of the Nesarian Gothic style and a testament to the greatest architectural minds that Nesaria has produced, a complex network of interlocking and interweaving marble temples and shrines, a forest of arches, spires and buttresses. Although it is made up of many temples, many consider it as one single huge temple complex, and if it is seen this way then Tivensa is by far the largest temple that has ever existed, both in terms of area and volume. The first temple in Tivensa that still exists today was built around 100BC (although many that are now no more than ruins were built as early as 650BC), and the latest was built in 1788. Unless one of the temples collapses and must be rebuilt, there will likely never be another temple in Tivensa, as they have simply run out of space. Nowadays, Ascaria has an extensive underground train network connecting major points in the city to each other, although the quality of this service is mediocre at best and plans to improve the system are frequently rejected on the grounds that they would be too expensive and too disruptive. Flag The flag of Ascaria is a very dark grey (but not black) saltire on a white background, with a golden sun in the centre. This is identical to the flag of Nesaria, but with a dark grey rather than purple saltire. Since the saltire shape represents two crossed swords in Elvic tradition, the grey colour merely represents the steel of the swords. Originally a lighter grey closer to the actual colour of steel was proposed, but most found the darker colour more aesthetically pleasing. Ascaria originally used the same flag that is now used for Nesaria, but the grey variant was introduced by Emperor Mathados IV when he declared the Nesarian Empire, taking the old flag of Ascaria as the flag of the Empire. The flag of the Empire was then changed to the flag of Nesaria when Emperor Athdus III introduced the new Imperial Flag that is still in use today.